Comparative proteomic profiling of hippocampi in mice treated with Jingui Shenqi Pills and Liuwei Dihuang Pills / 中国中药杂志

The effects of Jingui Shenqi Pills(Jingui) and Liuwei Dihuang Pills(Liuwei) which respectively tonify kidney Yang and kidney Yin on brain function have attracted great attention, while the differences of protein expression regulated by Jingui and Liuwei remain to be studied. This study explored the difference of protein expression profiles in the hippocampi of mice orally administrated with the two drugs for 7 days. The protein expression was quantified using LC-MS/MS. The results showed that among the 5 860 proteins tested, 151, 282 and 75 proteins responded to Jingui alone, Liuwei alone, and both drugs, respectively. The ratio of up-regulated proteins to down-regulated proteins was 1.627 in Jingui group while only 0.56 in Liuwei group. The proteins up-regulated by Jingui were mainly involved in membrane transport, synaptic vesicle cycle, serotonergic synapse, dopaminergic synapse and so on, suggesting that Jingui may play a role in promoting the transport of neurotransmitter in the nervous system. The proteins down-regulated by Liuwei were mainly involved in membrane transport, synapse, ion transport(potassium and sodium transport), neurotransmitter transport, innate and acquired immune responses, complement activation, inflammatory response, etc. In particular, Liuwei showed obvious down-regulation effect on the members of solute carrier(SLC) superfamily, which suggested that Liuwei had potential inhibitory effect on membrane excitation and transport. Finally, consistent results were obtained in the normal mouse and the mouse model with corticosterone-induced depressive-like behavior. This study provides an experimental basis for understanding the effect of Jingui and Liuwei on brain function from protein network.

A comparative study on rat models of oral mucosal ulcers caused by several anti-cancer chemotherapy drugs / 中国药理学通报

;Aim To compare the characteristics of rat oral ulcer models caused by different chemotherapeutic drugs in order to find a stable oral ulcer model caused by chemotherapy drugs. Methods Except the control group, each group was injected with corresponding concentrations of chemotherapeutic drugs in the right buccal mucosa. During the experiment, the weight, food consumption, oral ulcer diameter were recorded; at the end of the experiment, ulcer diameter, oral mucosa histopathology, oral mucosa local cytokine level, organ index and T lymphocytes subtype in peripheral blood were observed. Results The body weight and food consumption of the animals in each group were significantly lower than those in control group after injection of chemotherapy drugs; obvious oral mucosal ulceration was observed in DDP group and PTX group, and broken and shed mucosa were observed by optical microscope in the two groups. The level of IL-lß mRNA in local mucosal tissues significantly increased, and the level of EGFR mRNA was significantly reduced in the tow groups, but organ index did not change significantly. Ulcers were not observed in MTX, VLB, and AMD groups, but organ index and cytokine significantly decreased. T lymphocyte subtypes had no difference among the emimals in each group. Conclusions Injecting cisplatin or paclitaxel in rat oral mucosa can induce a stable oral ulcer model, which can be used in therapeutic evaluation of anti-oral ulcer drugs by observing ulcer diameter, food consumption, cytokines level etc.

Expression characteristics of inflammatory and apoptosis factors and regulatory effect of anemoside B4 in mice with acute kidney injury / 中国中药杂志

This paper was aimed to observe the effect of anemoside B4(hereinafter referred to as B4) on cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury in mice, and to investigate its possible mechanism in renal protection from inflammation and apoptosis aspects. Mice were divided into normal group, model group, dexamethasone positive group and B4 high, middle and low dose groups(5, 2.5, and 1.25 mg·kg~(-1 )doses). All the other mice groups except normal group were given with tail vein injection of cisplatin(15 mg·kg~(-1)) to induce acute kidney injury models. The drug administration was started on the day of modeling, and lasted for 4 days. After 1 hour of the last injection, orbital blood was collected. After the serum was separated, serum urea nitrogen(BUN), creatinine(Cre), total protein(TP), and albumin(ALB) were tested by using an automatic biochemical analyzer; the changes of kidney pathological morphology were observed by PAS staining; the protein expression levels of inflammatory factors including nucleotide binding oligomerization domain-like receptor(NLRP3), cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase 1(caspase-1), interleukin-18(IL-18), interleukin-1β(IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor(TNF-α), and interleukin-6(IL-6) and apoptosis factors including p53, caspase-3, cleaved-caspase-3, Bcl-2 associated X protein(Bax), and B-cell lymphoma-2(Bcl-2) were analyzed by Western blot. The results showed that B4 significantly reduced the serum BUN and Cre contents, and alleviated pathological changes in renal tissues, such as the shedding and degeneration of renal tubular epithelial cells, tubulin tubule type. B4 significantly down-regulated the protein expressions of p53, Bax, cleaved-caspase-3 in the kidney and up-regulated the expression of Bcl-2/Bax. In model group, however, no significant up-regulation was observed in the protein expression levels of inflammatory cytokines(NLRP3, pro-caspase-1, IL-18, IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6). The results suggested that B4 had a certain protective effect on cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury, and could activate p53 signaling pathway related apoptotic factors. B4 renal protective effect was mainly related to the regulation of p53 signaling pathway, while NLRP3 inflammasome and related inflammatory factors had no obvious response in this model.

Study on therapeutic effect and its related mechanism of anemoside B4 on ischemia reperfusion injury induced by renal artery and vein ligation in rats / 中国中药杂志

The aim of this paper was to investigate the effect and mechanism of anemoside B4 on renal ischemia reperfusion injury in rats. A total of 50 rats were randomly divided into the model group(NS) and anemoside B4 low-dose(1.25 mg·kg~(-1)), medium-dose(2.5 mg·kg~(-1)) and high-dose(5 mg·kg~(-1)) groups after the right kidney was removed and the left kidney was ligated to make the ischemia reperfusion model. Another 10 rats were selected as sham operation group only for normal control group(NS, received normal saline). Automatic biochemical analyzer was used to measure serum blood urea nitrogen(BUN), creatinine(Cre), cerebrospinal fluid(CSF) and urinemicroalbumin(mALB) levels after 5 days of tail vein injection treament. Total urine protein and total urinary albu-min were calculated and kidney samples were collected. Histopathological changes of renal tissues were observed by PAS staining. Western blot analysis was performed to detect the protein expressions of TLR4 and NF-κB in renal inflammatory factors related to NLRP3 pathway and TLR4/NF-κB pathway. The results showed that the levels of BUN, Cre, urinary total protein and urinary total albumin in the model group were significantly increased(P<0.01), with severe renal tubule injury was serious, manifested by obvious expansion of renal tubules, more serious tubular proteins, and some tubular epithelial cells were exfoliated. At the same time, the expression of inflammatory factors related to NLRP3 pathway and TLR4/NF-κB pathway increased significantly(P<0.01 or P<0.05). The levels of BUN, Cre were reduced in different doses of anemoside B4(P<0.05). The levels of total urinary protein and total urinary albumin were decreased in the low and high dose groups of anemoside B4.The level of total urinary albumin in the high-dose group of anemoside B4 was significantly reduced(P<0.05).Renal tubular injury was alleviated, tubular epithelial cell exfoliation was reduced, and the expression of related inflammatory factors was reduced in different degrees(P<0.01 or P<0.05). This study showed that anemoside B4 could alleviate renal ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats. And its mechanism may be related to the inhibition of inflammatory factors related to response mediated by NLRP3 pathway and TLR4/NF-κB pathway by anemoside B4.

Anti-nociceptive effect of patchouli alcohol: Involving attenuation of cyclooxygenase 2 and modulation of mu-opioid receptor / 中国结合医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the anti-nociceptive effect of patchouli alcohol (PA), the essential oil isolated from Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Bent, and determine the mechanism in molecular levels.@*METHODS@#The acetic acid-induced writhing test and formalin-induced plantar injection test in mice were employed to confirm the effect in vivo. Intracellular calcium ion was imaged to verify PA on mu-opioid receptor (MOR). Cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2) and MOR of mouse brain were expressed for determination of PA's target. Cellular experiments were carried out to find out COX2 and MOR expression induced by PA.@*RESULTS@#PA significantly reduced latency period of visceral pain and writhing induced by acetic acid saline solution (P<0.01) and allodynia after intra-plantar formalin (P<0.01) in mice. PA also up-regulated COX2 mRNA and protein (P<0.05) with a down-regulation of MOR (P<0.05) both in in vivo and in vitro experiments, which devote to the analgesic effect of PA. A decrease in the intracellular calcium level (P<0.05) induced by PA may play an important role in its anti-nociceptive effect. PA showed the characters of enhancing the MOR expression and reducing the intracellular calcium ion similar to opioid effect.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Both COX2 and MOR are involved in the mechanism of PA's anti-nociceptive effect, and the up-regulation of the receptor expression and the inhibition of intracellular calcium are a new perspective to PA's effect on MOR.

Study on acute kidney injury model induced by renal ischemia-reperfusion in rats / 中国中药杂志

In this study,in-depth systematic evaluation of rat of acute kidney injury(AKI) caused by renal arteriovenous ligation was conducted to better master and apply this model for drug research. Male SD rats of 2-3 months old were employed in this study.The left kidney was removed,and the right kidney received ligation for 40 min and reperfusion for 24 h. Serum creatinine(Crea),urea nitrogen(BUN) and the renal tissue sections were assayed as the basic indicators to evaluate their renal function. The mRNA expression of inflammatory necrosis factors and apoptotic factors was used to evaluate the mechanism of molecular pathophysiological changes. The results showed that the serum Crea and BUN caused by ligation of both renal arteries and veins were significantly higher than those of rats with renal artery ligation. After renal arteriovenous ligation for 40 min and reperfusion for 24 h in rats,the serum Crea of the rats varied from less than 100 μmol·L-1 to more than 430 μmol·L-1. Among them,5 rats showed less than 100 μmol·L-1 serum Crea,20 rats with 100-200 μmol·L-1 serum Crea and 12 rats with more than 430 μmol·L-1. Rats with serum Crea between 300-430 μmol·L-1 accounted for 66.3%(122/184) of the total number of the experiment rats. After 72 h reperfusion,serum Crea in the group of Crea 370-430 μmol·L-1 continued to increase,while the serum Crea in the group of Crea 200-300 μmol·L-1 and the group of Crea 300-370 μmol·L-1 recovered quickly. No matter serum Crea was elevated or decreased,the renal tubules showed pathological changes such as vacuolar degeneration or even necrosis. The mRNA expression levels of Toll-like receptor(TLR4),tumor necrosis factor(TNF-α) and interleukin(IL-6) in renal tissueswere significantly up-regulated,and the effect was most obvious in the group of serum Crea 370-430 μmol·L-1. The study indicated that the model for AKI caused by renal arteriovenous ligation and reperfusion is easy to operate,and the serum Crea and BUN have the characteristics of continuous increase,beneficial to the observation of drug effects. This acute kidney injury is mainly related to the pathophysiological response of inflammatory necrosis.

Pomegranate leaf attenuates lipid absorption in the small intestine in hyperlipidemic mice by inhibiting lipase activity / 中国天然药物

Pomegranate leaf (PGL) has a definite role in regulating lipid metabolism. However, pharmacokinetic results show the main active ingredient, ellagic acid, in PGL has lower oral bioavailability, suggesting that the lipid-lowering effect of PGL may act through inhibiting lipid absorption in the small intestine. Our results demonstrated that pomegranate leaf and its main active ingredients (i.e., ellagic acid, gallic acid, pyrogallic acid and tannic acid) were capable of inhibiting pancreatic lipase activity in vitro. In computational molecular docking, the four ingredients had good affinity for pancreatic lipase. Acute lipid overload experiments showed that a large dosage of PGL significantly reduced serum total cholesterol (TG) and triglycerides (TC) levels in addition to inhibiting intestinal lipase activity, which demonstrated that PGL could inhibit lipase activity and reduce the absorption of lipids. We also found that PGL could reverse the reduced tight-junction protein expression due to intestinal lipid overload, promote Occludin and Claudin4 expression in the small intestine, and enhance the intestinal mucosal barrier. In conclusion, we demonstrated that PGL can inhibit lipid absorption and reduce blood TG and TC by targeting pancreatic lipase, promoting tight-junction protein expression and thereby preventing intestinal mucosa damage from an overload of lipids in the intestine.

Mechanism underlying berberine's effects on HSP70/TNFα under heat stress: Correlation with the TATA boxes / 中国天然药物

Heat stress can stimulate an increase in body temperature, which is correlated with increased expression of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα). The exact mechanism underlying the HSP70 and TNFα induction is unclear. Berberine (BBR) can significantly inhibit the temperature rise caused by heat stress, but the mechanism responsible for the BBR effect on HSP70 and TNFα signaling has not been investigated. The aim of the present study was to explore the relationship between the expression of HSP70 and TNFα and the effects of BBR under heat conditions, using in vivo and in vitro models. The expression levels of HSP70 and TNFα were determined using RT-PCR and Western blotting analyses. The results showed that the levels of HSP70 and TNFα were up-regulated under heat conditions (40 °C). HSP70 acted as a chaperone to maintain TNFα homeostasis with rising the temperature, but knockdown of HSP70 could not down-regulate the level of TNFα. Furthermore, TNFα could not influence the expression of HSP70 under normal and heat conditions. BBR targeted both HSP70 and TNFα by suppressing their gene transcription, thereby decreasing body temperature under heat conditions. In conclusion, BBR has a potential to be developed as a therapeutic strategy for suppressing the thermal effects in hot environments.

Berberine action targets and its absorption behavior：how to use old drug for new mechanisms / 中国中药杂志

A variety of pharmacological effects of berberine (BBR) are constantly being discovered with the deepening of BBR research. What followed is how to rationally use the drug according to these new pharmacological effects. Because of some cardiac toxicity and poor oral absorption, conflicts may arise between improving the bioavailability and controlling the toxicity of BBR. Meanwhile some new therapeutic uses of BBR, such as hypolipidemia, hypoglycemia as well as prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, need long-termoral administration, thereby may lead to alteration of intestinal flora and potentially affect body's other physiological functions. Based on the stated targets of BBR and related pharmaceutical properties, comprehensive analysis of these issues was conducted in this study. Some suggestions were presented below：the effect of long-term oral administration on body function, especially the intestinal flora, needs to be further investigated; risks shall be considered in changing the composition of the formulation to improve the absorption rate of oral administration; for the medication with higher concentration demand (such as anti-cancer), targeted drug-delivery is worthy to be considered.

Effects of Angelica dahurica on obesity and fatty liver in mice / 中国天然药物

Angelica dahurica (A. dahurica) is a traditional Chinese medicinal plant being used in clinical practice. The present study demonstrated that A. dahurica could reduce white-fat weight in high-fat-diet hyperlipidemic mice, decrease total cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations in the livers of both high-fat-diet and Triton WR1339 induced hyperlipidemic mice, and enhance the total hepatic lipase activities of them. These findings were further supported by the results derived from the experiments with HepG2 cells in vitro. In addition, the proteins related to lipids metabolism were investigated using LC-MS/MS, indicating that genes of lipid metabolism and lipid transport were regulated by A. dhurica. The results from LC-MS/MS were further conformed by Western blot and real time PCR assays. A. dahurica could down-regulate the expression of catalase (CAT) and sterol carrier protein2 (SCP2) and up-regulate the expression of lipid metabolism related genes-lipase member C (LIPC) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ). In the Triton WR1339 mouse liver and HepG2 cells in vitro, A. dahurica was able to increase the expression of LIPC and PPARγ, confirming the results from in vivo experiments. Imperatorin showed the same activity as A. dahurica, suggesting it was one of the major active ingredients of the herb. In conclusion, our work represented a first investigation demonstrating that A. dahurica was able to regulate lipid metabolism and could be developed as a novel approach to fighting against fatty liver and obesity.

Brazilein inhibits neuronal inflammation induced by cerebral ischemia and oxygen-glucose deprivation through targeting NOD2 expression / 中国天然药物

Brazilein is reported to have immunosuppressive effect on cardiovascular and cerebral-vascular diseases. The essential roles of innate immunity in cerebral ischemia are increasingly identified, but no studies concerning the influence of brazilein on the innate immunity receptors have been reported. The present study was designed to investigate the regulation of NOD2 (Nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-containing protein 2) by brazilein for its protection of neuron in cerebral ischemia in vivo and oxygen-glucose deprivation in vitro. The results showed that brazilein could reverse the elevated expression of NOD2 and TNFα (tumor necrosis factor alpha) elicited by cerebral ischemia and reperfusion. This reduction could also be detected in normal mice and C17.2 cells, indicating that this suppressive effect of brazilein was correlated with NOD2. The results from GFP reporter plasmid assay suggested brazilein inhibited NOD2 gene transcription. In conclusion, brazilein could attenuate NOD2 and TNFα expression in cerebral ischemia and NOD2 may be one possible target of brazilein for its immune suppressive effect in neuro-inflammation.

Reproductive toxicity of brazilein in ICR mice / 中国天然药物

Brazilein is an active small molecular compound extracted from Caesalpinia sappan L. with favorable pharmacological properties on immune system, cardiovascular system, and nervous system. C. sappan has been used as a traditional medicine in China for hundreds of years for various diseases. However, the general reproductive toxicity of brazilein is still unknown. The purpose of the present study was to thoroughly evaluate the general reproductive toxicity of brazilein in ICR mice to support the future drug development and modernization of this potent traditional Chinese medicine. The results showed that, although no apparent toxicity on the reproducibility of the male was observed, brazilein might cause considerable risks to the fetuses and females as indicated by the ratios of dead fetuses and reabsorptions. In conclusion, our results from the present study provided some useful insights about the safety profile of brazilein, suggesting that brazilein should be used with caution in pregnant women.

Transmembrane transport behavior of in vitro HepG2 cells of ananas and its effect on lipids and glucose distribution / 中国中药杂志

Pineapple (Ananas comosus) leaves contain mainly phenolic components with antioxidant and hypolipidemic effects. One of the principle components is p-coumaric acid. In this study, the transport behavior of p-coumaric acid, was observed after the administration of pineapple leaf phenols in vitro. Simultaneously, the effect of the phenols on glucose, total cholesterol and triglycerides transportation and metabolism in HepG2 cells was also observed. The results showed that the phenols had good transport characteristics. 5 min after the administration, p-coumaric acid of the phenols could be detected, and the content of p-coumaric acid reached the peak concentration after 60 min of the administration. p-coumaric acid of phenols have time-and dose-dependent manner. While promoting glucose transporter (GLUT4) and low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) expression, the phenols decreased intracellular lipid content. This reduction of intracellular lipid content was highly correlated with the promotion of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and hepatic triglyceride lipase (HTGL) expression, while the reduction of intracellular glucose levels was correlated with glycogen synthesis in the cells.

Understanding differences between Rheum palmatum and R. franzenbachii from perspective of chemistry, efficacy and toxicity / 中国中药杂志

Rheum franzenbachii (called Tudahuang in local) has some similarities with R. palmatum (rhubarb) collected by "China Pharmacopoeia" and is often used as a substitute of rhubarb. Can Tudahuang simply replace rhubarb in the application or whether is there difference between Tudahuang and rhubarb, and what is the difference it is important to verify the difference and understand its proper application in the field of clinical practice. In this paper, we discussed the differences of the two herbs from the views of chemistry, efficacy and toxicity based on the author's previous research work as well as literatures, by using the major role of the rhubarb "diarrhea" as the basic point. The analysis result showed that the role of diarrhea Tudahuang was much weaker than that of rhubarb. The reason lies in the difference between the contents of combined anthraquinones component. While acute toxicity in mice of Tudahuang is stronger than that of rhubarb. Thus, Tudahuang should not simply replace rhubarb in practice.

Screening on colonization of multidrug-resistant organisms in neonatal intensive care unit newborns on admission / 中国感染控制杂志

Objective To investigate colonization of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs)in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)newborns on admission.Methods From April to November 2013,293 newborns who admitted to NICU of a hospital were screened for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)by nasal and throat swabs and for extended-spectrumβ-lactamases (ESBLs)bacteria and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE)by anal swabs.Results Of 293 newborns,61 were detected MDROs (20.82%).The positive rate of MDROs screening in newborns aged 3 days,and appropriate isolation measures should be taken for positive screening patients to prevent the transmission of MDROs.

Effect of baicalin on pattern recognition receptor TLR2/4-NOD2 and its significance of druggability / 中国中药杂志

Activation pattern recognition receptors can cause the startup of downstream signaling pathways, the expression of inflammatory factors, and finally immunological inflammatory reaction. Either exogenous pathogenic microorganisms or endogenous tissue components can activate these pattern recognition receptors as ligands at varying degrees, and then cause the immunological inflammatory reaction. Therefore, it is of great significance to inhibit relevant receptors, as well as the immunological inflammatory reaction, in order to avoid tissue injury during the course of disease. Baicalin is able to specifically inhibit the expression of TLR2/4-NOD2, inhibit the expression of inflammatory factors IL-1beta, IL-6 and TNF-alpha, and thereby reducing the injury of the tissue cells during the course of disease. This effect is non-specific with tissues, which is of great theoretical and practical significance in druggability. In addition, the drug metabolism and toxicity of baicalin are also discussed for its druggability in this article.

Euphorbia kansui roots induced-diarrhea in mice correlates with inflammatory response / 中国天然药物

AIM@#Euphorbia kansui (E. KS) is a traditional medicine used in China for thousands of years with the effect of propulsion in the gastrointestines. However, there is no reported study of E. KS on gastrointestinal motility until now. The aim of this work is to study the effect of E. KS on the propulsion of gastrointestines, and to elucidate the possible mechanism of action.@*METHODS@#E.KS was prepared as a 30% ethanol extract and used for the experiment of small and large intestines of mice by oral administration with three different dosages (1.2, 0.6 and 0.3 g·kg(-1)). The feces were observed in vivo. The morphology was carried out to detect if there are any changes in the intestines after the extract of E. KS administration. The assays of mRNA and protein expression were employed to observe IL-1β, TNFα and caspase 3.@*RESULTS@#It was shown that the extract of E.KS promoted diarrhea in mouse feces after administration, inhibited the contraction of smooth muscle of mouse small intestine and caused the inflammatory exudation on the mucosa of the intestines, enhanced the expression of both mRNA and the protein levels of IL-1β and TNFα in the small or large intestines.@*CONCLUSION@#The results showed that the extract of E. KS acted on the intestinal smooth muscle with propulsion of feces involving the irritation of the intestines with acute inflammatory reactions.

Role of baicalin in regulating Toll-like receptor 2/4 after ischemic neuronal injury / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Baicalin has a significant anti-inflammation effect and is widely used in the clinical treatment of stroke. Most of the studies of Toll-like receptor 2/4 (TLR2/4) during cerebral ischemia had defined their specific expressions in microglia in hippocampus tissue. To explore the targets of baicalin in stroke, we detected the expressions of TLR2/4 in vitro/vivo.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>By constructing a cerebral ischemia-reperfusion model in vivo and glucose oxygen deprivation model, we successfully induced neuron damage, then added baicalin and detected expressions of TLR2/4, nuclear factor-kB (NF-kB), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in mRNA level and protein level.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>We found distinct upregulations of TLR2/4 and TNFα in both mRNA level and protein level in PC12 cells and primary neurons. Moreover, TLR2/4 and TNFα expressions were significantly higher in mice hippocampus treated with cerebral ischemia-reperfusion. Baicalin could downregulate the expressions of TLR2/4 and TNFα in the damaged cells and mice hippocampus effectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Neurons could respond to the damage and activate the related signal pathway directly. TLR2/4 responsed to the damage and sent the signal to downstream factor TNFα through activating NF-kB. Baicalin could inhibit the inflammatory reaction in neuron damage and TLR might be its targets, which explained why baicalin could widely be used in the clinical treatment of stroke.</p>

Analysis of the short-term and long-term effect of Er-yttrium aluminum garnet laser in stapes surgery / 中华耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyze the short-term and long-term effect of Er-yttrium aluminum garnet (Er-YAG) laser in stapes surgery.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>There were 86 patients operated by the Er-YAG laser stapedotomy from 2001 to 2007 were analyzed retrospectively, with 23 male, 63 female and 13 double ears and with the average age of 48 years old, ranging from 12 to 78. All of 99 ears suffered deafness of conduction. The average air-bone-gap (ABG) of all patients before surgery was (37.4+/-9.0) dB HL (ranging from 13.7 to 58.7 dB). The patients followed-up over 6 weeks after the surgery was regarded as the short-term result, while over one year follow-up as the long-term effect (according to the standard of the Committee on Hearing and Equilibrium of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery). The followed-up average time was (26.3+/-15.8) months (range from 14 to 73 months). The pre-post-operation average bone conduction auditory threshold of 2 kHz and 4 kHz were observed. The data of the patient whether or not has the symptoms of tinnitus and dizzy and the lasted days were also recorded.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>After surgery, short-term ABG of 99 ears was (15.7+/-8.7) dB, matched-pairs t test with the numbers of before surgery, t=22.79, P<0.01. The results of 45 ears (45.5%) with ABG<10 dB or air conduction improved more than 30 dB were regarded as excellence. The air conduction of 88 ears (88.9%) improved more than 15 dB was regarded as utility. With 82 ears (82.8%) followed-up more than 1 year, the average ABG was (11.7+/-6.8) dB, matched-pairs t test with the numbers of before surgery, t=23.37, P<0.01, compared with the short-term visit result [(15.3+/-9.2) dB, 82 ears], t=4.82, P<0.01, both of which were considered statistically extremely significant. Among them, 50 ears (61.0%) have the excellent effect while 74 ears with (90.2%) ABG<20 dB. The average bone conduction auditory threshold in 2 kHz was (34.5+/-15.0) dB before surgery, matched-pairs t test with short-term visit result (33.4+/-15.9) dB, t=1.96, P=0.026 14, with long-term visit result (32.7+/-15.2) dB, t=3.24, P=0.000 87, all of which had the significant difference, manifest that the Cohort's notch had been improved after the surgery. The data of bone conduction auditory threshold of 4 kHz with long-term following-up result matched-pairs t test with that of surgery before, t=0.76 (P>0.05), which showed the change of the bone conduction had no statistics difference. There were 55 ears had the persistent tinnitus before surgery, in which 42 ears (76.4%) with no the tinnitus, 13 ears with same to that of preoperative, and 3 ears (3.0%) with remaining tinnitus after surgery but who had not it preoperation and all disappeared after 2 - 3 days. There were 12 ears (12.1%) with light dizzy after surgery, but their live could deal with himself and the average dizzy lasted 2.3 days.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Er-YAG laser stapes surgery is safe to the inner ear, and it primal free from the imminent risk in stapes surgery, so the effect can be affirmed.</p>

Determination of 1, 3-O-dicaffeoylglycerides from leaves of pineapple by HPLC / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To establish a HPLC method for a new compound 1,3-O-dicaffeoylglycerides determination.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The separation was performed in a Kromasil C18 column (4.6 mm x 150 mm, 5 microm) with a mobile phase of 0.1% H3PO4: Acetontrile = 75 : 25 (v/v). The flow rate was 1.0 ml x min(-)1 and the temperature of column was 30 degrees C.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>A satisfactory separation between 1, 3-O-dicaffeoylglycerides and impurity was obtained. The calibration curve was linear over the concentration range from 0.051 6 microg to 0.516 microg, r = 0.999 9. The average recoveries was 97.1% (RSD 1.3%). The content of 1,3-O-dicaffeoylglycerides in pineapple leaves from three different batches were 0.033%, 0.034% and 0.031% respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The method has good selectivity, high recovery and reproducibility, and can be used for the analysis of 1,3-O-dicaffeoylglycerides in pineapple leaves and their quality control.</p>